Reaching Into Infinity (DragonForce album)
Reaching Into Infinity is a power/speed metal album by English power metal band, DragonForce. It is their seventh studio album, third album featuring Marc Hudson on vocals, and first album featuring Gee Anzalone on drums. The album received positive reviews upon release, and well liked by many DragonForce fans. Songwriting and Concept While the lyrics were handled by lead singer Marc Hudson for the most part, songwriting was handled by Sam Totman and Frederic Leclercq. The album sounds vastly different from any previous DragonForce album, mainly due to Leclercq interests in other metal sub-genres being an influence for the sound. Herman Li has stated that the band wanted to "make use of everyone's skills, something which they didn't do much at the beginning of the band." ''While experimenting with harsher, heavier vocals, the original plan was to get a featured guest, but after having Hudson try it out, the band settled on that having felt satisfied with the results. The song "Silence" was written after a friend of Leclercq's, who had committed suicide, while "The Edge of the World" (which would be the band's longest song ever, clocking in at 11:03) was inspired by Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". Track Listing Personnel '''DragonForce' * Marc Hudson – lead vocals, backing vocals * Herman Li – guitars, backing vocals * Sam Totman – guitars, backing vocals * Frédéric Leclercq – bass, backing vocals, battle choirs, guitar solos on "The Edge of the World" and "Our Final Stand" * Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano, backing vocals * Gee Anzalone – drums, backing vocals Session Musicians * Clive Nolan – backing vocals * Emily Alice Ovenden – backing vocals * Dagge Hagelin, Ronny Milianowicz – battle choirs * André Alvinzi – additional keyboards and programming * Ronny Milianowicz – marching snare drum on "Reaching into Infinity" * Francesco Ferrini and Francesco Paoli (MIDAS Productions) and Jon Phipps – orchestration Technical Staff * Jens Bogren – production, mixing on all regular edition tracks * Johan Örnborg – mixing on special edition bonus tracks * Tony Lindgren – mastering * Linus Corneliusson – edition, mixing assistance * Viktor Stenquist – additional engineering * Ludwig Näsvall – studio drum technician Why It Rocks # This is DragonForce's most diverse album to date, yet it retains the familiar elements. # Marc's vocals have really been nailed for this album. This is the best he has sounded so far. # Some songs, like "Midnight Madness" are as cheesy as ever, but still awesome nonetheless. # "The Edge of the World" is an absolute epic; 11 minutes in length, very progressive (like Dream Theatre) and Marc's vocals in the middle of the song are pure awesomeness! He really can do death vocals and make it sound great! # The faster tracks like "Astral Empire", "WAR!", "Land of Shattered Dreams", and "Our Final Stand" are joys to listen to as well. Though not as over the top as past songs, those songs in particular stand out as songs worthy of being on the older albums. # "Silence" is probably the most meaningful song by the band to date; it could even rival "Seasons" from The Power Within in terms of emotional depth. # As always, crazy and slick guitar-work from both Herman Li and Sam Totman. # Instrumentation sounds a lot more authentic here, though this has become a gradual thing since Hudson took over vocal duties back in 2012. Reception The album has garnered positive reviews since its release, holding a 76 on Metacritic, and was even awarding 4 and a half stars out of 5 by AllMusic.com. Category:Metal Albums Category:Rock Category:Albums Category:Heavy Metal